Trial on lesser charge ordered in burning case
PITTSBURGH (AP) – A Western Pennsylvania man accused of having thrown a flammable substance on his girlfriend’s 7-year-old son and then not helping him after he was set on fire has been ordered to stand trial on a lesser assault charge.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette said an aggravated assault charge was withdrawn Tuesday against 36-year-old Edward Myers of Saxonburg in Butler County.
District Judge Lewis Stoughton forwarded charges of simple assault, recklessly endangering another person and drug possession to county court for trial.
Police allege that Myers threw nail polish remover on the boy then did nothing to help him after he was set on fire, either by Myers or other boys at the Saxonburg home. The boy suffered third-degree burns on his face and chest. A 15-year-old is facing juvenile charges.